Automatic winding device for phonographs.



G. BEDFORD. AUTOMATIC WINDING DEVICE FOR PHONDGRAPHS.

Patented Dec.12,1916.

- 2 SHEETS-SHEET I APPLICATION FILED MAY 23, I916. IEUDAIDDO G. BEDFORD. AUTOMATIC WINDING DEVICE FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY23, I916.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, Gnome lilnorono, a subject of the King of Great Britain, andv a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Winding Device for Phonographs, of which the following is a full, cle'ar, and exact description.

lfhis invention relates to automatic musicalinstrinnents, and has to phonographs of the spring motortype.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a means whereby the spring will be automatically Wound to capacity siniultaneoush with the lifting of the lid of the casing, requiring no attention whatever of the operator for this purpose.

A further object of the invention is to provide means in connection with the Winding mechanism for holding the lid open during the changing of the records and. needles, the

winding coiniection between the lid and the motor being broken during the closing of the lid for the playing of the nextrecord.

it further object of the invention is to provide means whereby upon the-opening of the casing lid, the motor will be Wound for a succeeding record of maximum size irrespective of the size of the preceding record and the corresponding unwinding of the spring for it.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the automatic winding; device under the control of the lid may be disconnected after its usual operation, so that the lid may he left open if desired during the playing ot' the next record.

With the foregoingnnrl other objects in View the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and While the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein,

illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in Which- Figure 1 is a vertical central transverse section of a phonograph illustrating one form of my improvement; Fig. 2 is a verticalv section at right angles to the plane of Fig. land substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the Specification. of Letters Patent.

particular reference 'dicatecl lo the arrow on Fig. l.

Patentc it ill cc it ii.

Serial. 1%. 99,258.

line 3-3 of Fig. and, liig. 1;- is a detail View of a modification described below.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, it show a phonogrzqz-h cabinet at 10 of any suitable or well known type or design, and at 11 is indicated the turn table upon which the records are supported in theusual manner for cooperation with the reproducer 152. The cabinet is providedwith a lid 13 hinged at 14: at the rear of the top portion 0% the cabinetto swing upvsai-rllv and rearivardly as indicated. dotted lines in Fig. 2-.

The spring; motor inechanisroi? more or less conventional t' q e in so far spring casing; or support and the "ear connections between it and the table 16 are corjicernetl.

lhe first 1? of the to a shaft 18, to which is con-n e: cl a clutch member 19 having a spring operated pawl 20 coilpeinting;- with the teeth. of a oneua v clutch member ill, to which, is secured a pinion 22 adapted to rotate idly around the shaft and over the pawl in the direction inlly the term one-Way clutch as used in this specilication, ll. mean to cover broadly any n'iechani cal connection serving to engage in one tli rection and slip in the other. This pinion 22 meshes constantly with a large gear 23, Which like the pinion is securedto the spring casing 15. The casing and the two gears just HlBlltlOYlQtlhlG adaoted to rotate around a fixed post 25, one en: of the sprin Train is scmired osing secured to the post and, the other end to the interior of the casing The arrows on the gear members indicate rection of movement during the Winding operation.

At 26 is a large gear secured to a shaft 2'? having a pinion 28 secured to the other end thereof. This pinion 28 is in mesh with a gear segment 29 journalecl upon a shaft 30 mounted in a bracket 31 securm l to the cabinet. The segment at is provided with a laterally projecting lug 32 against which an arm 33 hears during the Winding of the spring. The inner end of: the arm 33 is pivoted loosely upon the shaft 30 and at its outer end is connected a rod 3%: whose other end is connected directly to the cabinet lid 13 by means of a bracket 35 or its equivalent. /Vhen the lid is lifted, the arm 33 will move through the arc of a circle from the the the iii normal position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 to or slightly beyond the position shown in dotted lines, and during such movement of the arm it will engage somewhere along the line of movement with the lug 32, the exact point at which this engagement takes place depending upon the size of the previous record and the corresponding unwinding of the spring. In this Winding operation the lid serves to act as a lever, and hence it may fairly be so termed. It will thus be seen that this action upon the segment 29 will actuate the pinion 28 and gear 26 to rotate the spring support 15 in the direction to wind the spring, and the winding of the spring will be approximately to the maximum. extent at the end of each' opening movement of the lid. It is to be noted also that, as shown herein, the spring is wound from the outside or outer end, the same end as unwinds to drive'the turntable shaft 16, in the ordinary operation of the phonograph. This manner of winding the spring is essential in that the unwinding of the spring returns certain of the connections between the spring and the phonograph casing lid to their normal position, so as to be engaged again by the lid devices when the .lid is being opened again, and this is why it is necessary for the one-way clutch to be in terposed between the spring support and the turntable. I It isyto be noted in this connection that in the/assemblage of the parts, the spring will be partially wound so that while thelatter part ofthe record is being played, ample fbr'ce will 'be derived from the spring to insure at steady and satisfactory musical effect. In other words, while the capacity of the spring may be considerably more than suflicient to operate the mechanism for the largest record, the playing of the largest record will not exhaust the power of the spring, and hence with the complete rewinding of the spring at each opening of the lid for the change of the records, I always have proper tension. or power in the motor for the best results.

Assuming that the instrument is idle and the manual stop 36 is applied to the periphery of the table 11. in the usual manner holding the shaft 16 from rotation, the opening of the lid, through the connectlons above set forth, will insure that the spring will be wound'to the desired full extent. The spring, however,'will be held from unwinding by virtue of the pawl 20 acting upon the clutch member 21, thereby positively holding the spring from operation until the manual stop 36 is released after the record is applied to the table in the usual manner. Since the gear connections between the pinion 22and.

pinion 28 are positive, it will be understood that the gear segment will beheld in its elevated position until the spring during. its intended unwinding for the driving of the tor if he operates in the usual manner. If. 1

machine will return it again to its normal position, and hence the lug 32 remains elcvated accordingly. After the record is up plied and the motor started, the lid will then be closed for the best musical effects. This closing of the lid will return the arm 33 to its normal position and the record will be played. If it is of the largest size, the lug 32 will be brought into proximity with the arm by the time the end of the record is reached, when the lid is again to be lifted to stop the motor and to replace the record. During the lifting of the lid. for this pur pose, the springwill. be again wound to its full capacity and during the slight interval a; of time required for this operation. the 1m;- mentum of the table 11 will continue the music without interruption until the operator stops it. From the nature of the winding device described herein and illustrated, 9 it will be seen that the spring will never be unwound, and by no possibility can it be overwound. The bar or pin 37 may be so: cured to the. side of the cabinet to bear lightly against the gear 26 adjacent the pinion 24 so as to prevent any slippage due to the wabbling of the gear.

The mechanism disclosed herein for auto matically winding the spring simplifies thev construction of the phonograph materially and eliminates the marring of the cabinet for the purpose of inserting a winding crank. Another advantage of thisniechanism is the simplicity with respect to the means for holding up the lid, that is to say, J13. by simply applying a link 38 to the rod 34' at the point 39, I. provide an automatic brace or holding means, the lower free end of the link being provided with a shoulder 40 adapted to coiiperate with a pin 4-1 carrc'iried by the cabinet. When the lid is opened for the purposes above set forth, the link 38 will drag idly over the pin 41 to a slight distance beyond the shoulder 40, so as to provide ample running time fOlRtllG motor I.) before it is again closed by the lifting of the link from the pin.

In the usual practice of the bestphonographs, it, iscustomary to close the lid for the best musical effect during the playing of each record. Therefore, I provide a means whereby "the winding may be effected substantially automatically and without any thought or attention whatever of the operahowever, it is necessary that the lid be left open during the playing of a record, the arm to which the' rod Set is connected may be made in two separable parts 33 and 33 both journaled at their inner ends idly upon the shaft 30. As suggested in Fig; 4, the rod 34 is connected to the arm 33 andthe two arms are detachably connected by any suitable catch 42 adapted, however, to be released by the operation of a finger of the operator 13,)

'sp ring after 1,208,4ttt5 against the force of a light spring lf'he catch operates over a pin it or its equivalent on the opposite arm. The arrangement is such that during the usual proper opera-' tion of the machine the two arms will operate one, as in the description given earlier, but it a record is to be played with the lid open, the operator will release the catch l2 and allow the arm 33 to drop until itrests upon stop carried by the side of the cabinet or some other stationary support. llhe other arm 33* stays in its elevated position, but since it is olifset from the gear segment 29, it will not obstruct the return movement of the lug For rewinding the such operation, the operator may actuate the arm 33 directly or he may lower the lid and then lift it. lho lowering of the lid will cause the automatic connec tion between the two arms, and hence the spring will be wound in the manner already described, ready for the succeeding record.

This winding device may be applied to macl'iines already built with a slight outlay of time and expense, very few new parts being required. ln the manufacture of new machines, however, the operation is simplified over the old practice, the number of parts being required being less than usual for hand winding devices. The machine is thoroughly practical as has been proved by my own. experience. Furthermore, it is reliable in-every respect, being simple in construction, and it cannot get out of order or fail. to operate.

I claim:

1. The combination with a cabinet, a mow able lid therefor, and a spring motor within the cabinet, of connections between the lid and the motor for completely winding the spring at each opening movei'nent of the lid, said connections including an arm and another member mounted to swing around the same axis, lost motion engaging means be tween the arm and the other member effective in one direction but idle in the other, and a rigid bar pivotally connecting the free end 01"" the arm to the lid.

2. The combination with a cabinet, a movable lid therefor, and a motor carried by the cabinet, of connections between. the lid and the motor for storing tall power in the motor at each opening movement of the lid, said connections including an arm member mounted to swing around the same axis, lost motion engaging means between the arm and the other member effective in one direction but idle in the other, and means connecting the free end of the arm to the lid.

3. The combination with a phonograph cabinet, a movable lid therefor and a spring motor within-the cabinet, of automatic winding devices for the motor spring actuated by the opening of the lid, said winding de-- vices including a an d. another a rotary member having positive connection with one end of the spring and movable with said spring in opposite directions during the winding and unwind ing thereof respectively, and a lever connect-- ed to the lid and cooperating with. said rotary member to actuate the same in one di rection for winding the spring and movable freely in the opposite direction away from said rotary member when the lid is closing.

4. in a phonograph, the combination. of a cabinet, a. hinged lid therefor, a spring motor within the cabinet, the spring ol the motor being adapted to wind and i'znwind from the same end, lost motion connections between the lid and the spring serving to wind the spring while the lid is being opened but pern'iitting tree unwinding movement of the spring when the lid is closed, said con-- nections including a rigid bar connected to the lid and a link pivoted to the bar and cooperating with the cabinet to hold the lid open temporarily, said link having lost motion connection with the cabinet whereby the lid is permitted to move slightly toward its closed position to permit suilicient imwinding of the spring to initiate the playing of the record preliminary to the release of the lid for closing.

5. In an automatic winding device for phonographs, the combinationwith a spring motor including a casing and a pinion secured to the casing, of a gear in mesh with. saidpinion, a segment having a projecting lug, connections the gear whereby the rotation of the ment will cause rotation of the gear at relatively high peripheral speed, a pivoted arm adapted to bear against said lug to rotate the segment, a lid, and a member extending the arm to the lid to the lid of the from the free end. of oscillate the arm each time phonograph casing is lifted.

6. The combination with a phonograph cabinet including a hinged lid, a motor, a record table and speed'nmltiplymg connections between the spring and the table, of winding means for the motor insuring that at each opening movement of the lid the spring will be fully wound, said winding means including a gear having positive connection with the spring casing, said gear having a lateral projection, a pivoted arm, and a bar connection between the arm and the lid whereby the arm is caused to engage the lateral projection while the lid is being opened, said arm, however, swinging freely away from the projection while the lid is being closed.

7. In a phonograph, the combination with a cabinet body, a spring motor carried by the body and a lid hinged to the body, of a bar pivoted the bar and the spring for automatically winding the spring when the lid. is moved on between the se ment. and

spr ng to the lid, connections between" llllll ltd against said projection to nected to the motor spring, all of the gears of the train bearing a constant positive relation to the motor spring, a pivoted arm having lost motion connection with one of said gears, and a connecting member between the arm and the lid to cause said arm to actuate said last mentioned gear when the lid is moved in one direction and to swing freely therefrom when the lid is moved in another direction, said gear being movable with the unwinding of the spring toward said arm.

9. In an automatic winding device for phonographs, the combination with a spring motor including a support and a pinion secured to the support, of a gear meshing with said pinion, a segment having a projection, connections between the segment and the gear whereby the rotation of the segment will cause rotation of the gear at relatively high speed, a movable arm adapted to bear rotate the segment, a lever,'and means connecting the lever with said arm and serving to move the arm and completely wind the motor spring each time the lever is operated in one direct-ion.

10. The combination with a phonograph cabinet, a movable lid therefor and a spring motor within the cabinet, of automatic devices for storing power in the motor spring actuated by the opening of the lid, said power storing devices including a rotary member having positive connection with one end of the spring and movable with said spring in opposite directions during the storing of power therein and the delivery of power therefrom respectively, and a lever connected to the lid and cooperating with said rotary member to actuate the same in one direction for storing power in the spring and movable freely in the opposite direction away from said rotary member when the lid is being closed.

11. The combination with a phonograph cabinet including a hinged lid, :1 spring motor, a record table, and speed multiplying connections between the spring and the table, of power storinggneans for the motor insuring that at each opening movement of the lid full power for a record of the largest size will be stored in the spring, said power storing means including a wheel having positive connection with the spring, said wheel having a lateral projection, a pivoted arm, and connections between the arm and the lid whereby the arm is caused to engage the lateral projection when the lid is being opened, but permitting said arm to move freely away from the projection when the lid is closed.

12. In a phonograph, the combination with a cabinet body, a motor carried within the body, and a lid p voted to the body, of connections between the lid and the motor for automatically storing power in the motor when the lid is moved on its pivot, and means cooperating with said connections to hold the lid in open position.

GEORGE BEDFORD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centsv each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Baton, Washington, D. 6. 

